Cemeteries and Memorials

[tonycad]

In Richard Homes' 'Tommy', the Anglican Padres were criticised by the Tommies for their reluctance to visit them in the front-line trenches.

This poor man paid the cost of doing so.

Tony

[Bob Coulson]

The son of Lt Col Acton of the Connaught Rangers.

Bob.

[squirrel]

I think I read somewhere in an account by a Padre that the Head C of E Chaplain gave instructions that C of E Padres should not visit the front line.

May be entirely wrong of course but sticks in the mind for some reason.

[David Seymour]

Has anybody done any work on how padres died? My man, Rev E O Read, died from artillery fire at a casualty station.

Best wishes,

David

[TD60]

Hello

Here is the grave of a chaplain 2 class.

I do not know what means '2 class' but I suppose he was quite high in the hierarchy of this departement, was not he ? (Coin cemetery.)

Regards

[michaeldr]

Like Squirrel I have come across references to a CoE ban on their priests going into the front line, but am unable to quote chapter and verse on this

Holmes’ half chapter on Padres is interesting. There he has made use of ‘Chaplains in Conflict’ by Stephen Louden and one point which the latter makes is that the WWI chaplain had no clearly defined role and therefore he tended to be moulded by the Army around him. Some commands would not want an unarmed man getting in their way at the front and would confine him to duties further back helping the medic etc. An awful lot depended on the force of personality of the padre concerned. Some notable ones did make it to the front as the above photographs, and various awards including a few VCs testify. By contrast the RC chaplain was not at all unsure of his role as he had to be where the action was in order to administer the last rights to his unfortunate charges.

Regards

Michael D.R.

[Myrtle]

This man was buried in the communal cemetery at Bouzincourt by the gate that leads into the military cemetery.

[tonycad]

Thank you for your interesting replies.

Already in the thread reference has been made to fourth class and second class chaplains, and I have been trying to work out how the 4 classes of chaplains fitted into the hierarchy of army units.

In the Long, Long Trail there is a description of the various grades of chaplains, but no description of how they related to army units.

There were two chaplains at the equivelent army rank of Major General who I presume catered for the spiritual needs of the army as a whole, one Principal Chaplain also at Major General, and a second at Brigadier General, who were either deputies but may also have catered for either Army or Corps level.

But what about the lower 4 grades of chaplains.

We often see the graves of 4th grade chaplains, and I presume that these acted at Battalion level. But what about the remaining three grades.

I do not think that they acted at Regimental level, because the Regiments rarely acted in concert, but what about at Brigade and Division levels.

Finally, was there a form of promotion for the the individual Chaplain no matter how he served, or was promotion dependent on the next army unit to which he was attached.

Does any Pal have the answer.

Tony

[squirrel]

Just re-read this thread and it is very, very, interesting.

Just one point though.........RC Chaplains administered the last RITES.

[Nick Cooper]

In Richard Homes' 'Tommy', the Anglican Padres were criticised by the Tommies for their reluctance to visit them in the front-line trenches.

This poor man paid the cost of doing so.

Holmes's sentiment is certainly echoed by Robert Graves in Goodbye to All That, in which he contrasts it with the Catholic padres, who relished at the opportunity to get as far forward as possible!

On the subject of chaplain's graves, an intersting example is in the immaculate Nieppe Communal Cemetery (Nord), which contains 62 scattered WW1 burials. Like many French graveyards it has a Cures' or Priestsi Vault for the clergymen of the area, but the one there also contains the remains of the Rev James J McMenamin, NZ army chaplain who died in June 1917. There is a CWGC headstone in front of the vault (I'll see if I can post a picture tonight).

Edited 8 December , 2005 by Nick Cooper

[Myrtle]

There is an interesting publication called "Chaplains in Conflict" by Stephen H. Louden ( his MTh Dissertation, University of Oxford) which answers many questions that have been raised by this thread.

It appears that there were 117 chaplains in the army at the outbreak of WW1 and 3475 by November 1918. Stephen Louden lists them as follows:

1985 Church of England

649 Roman Catholic

303 Presbyterian

256 Wesleyan

251 United Board ( Baptist, Congregational, Primitive Methodist and United Methodist)

16 Jewish

10 Welsh Calvinist

5 Salvationists

At the time of publication Stephen Louden was the Principal Roman Catholic Chaplain of the British Army.

[bobpike]

Sassoon wrote, “……the padres never came near us -- except to bury

someone. (An exception was Maurice Peel, who was killed with our First

Battalion at Bullecourt in April 1917 -- a byword for bravery.)”

I believe this poem was written with Peel in mind.

Christ and the Soldier

The straggled soldier halted -- stared at Him --

Then clumsily dumped down upon his knees,

Gasping "O blessed crucifix, I'm beat !"

And Christ, still sentried by the seraphim,

Near the front-line, between two splintered trees,

Spoke him: "My son, behold these hands and feet."

The soldier eyed him upward, limb by limb,

Paused at the Face, then muttered, "Wounds like these

Would shift a bloke to Blighty just a treat !"

Christ, gazing downward, grieving and ungrim,

Whispered, "I made for you the mysteries,

Beyond all battles moves the Paraclete."

The soldier chucked his rifle in the dust,

And slipped his pack, and wiped his neck, and said --

"O Christ Almighty, stop this bleeding fight !"

Above that hill the sky was stained like rust

With smoke. In sullen daybreak flaring red

The guns were thundering bombardment's blight.

The soldier cried, "I was born full of lust,

With hunger, thirst, and wishfulness to wed.

Who cares today if I done wrong or right?"

Christ asked all pitying, "Can you put no trust

In my known word that shrives each faithful head ?

Am I not resurrection, life and light ?"

Machine-guns rattled from below the hill;

High bullets flicked and whistled through the leaves;

And smoke came drifting from exploding shells.

Christ said "Believe; and I can cleanse your ill.

I have not died in vain between two thieves;

Nor made a fruitless gift of miracles."

The soldier answered, "Heal me if you will,

Maybe there's comfort when a soul believes

In mercy, and we need it in these hells.

But be you for both sides ? I'm paid to kill

And if I shoot a man his mother grieves.

Does that come into what your teaching tells ?"

A bird lit on the Christ and twittered gay;

Then a breeze passed and shook the ripening corn.

A Red Cross waggon bumped along the track.

Forsaken Jesus dreamed in the desolate day --

Uplifted Jesus, Prince of Peace forsworn --

An observation post for the attack.

"Lord Jesus, ain't you got no more to say ?"

Bowed hung that head below the crown of thorns.

The soldier shifted, and picked up his pack,

And slung his gun, and stumbled on his way.

"O God," he groaned, "why ever was I born ?" . . .

The battle boomed, and no reply came back.

5 August 1916

PEEL, The Hon. MAURICE BERKELEY

Initials: M B

Nationality: United Kingdom

Rank: Chaplain 4th Class

Regiment: Army Chaplains' Department

Age: 44

Date of Death: 14/05/1917

Awards: MC and Bar

Additional information: Son of Arthur Wellesley Peel, 1st Viscount Peel, former Speaker of the House of Commons; husband of the late Emily Peel. Vicar of Tamworth since 1915.

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead

Grave/Memorial Reference: V. A. 31.

Cemetery: QUEANT ROAD CEMETERY, BUISSY

[michaeldr]

Like Squirrel I have come across references to a CoE ban on their priests going into the front line, but am unable to quote chapter and verse on this

Holmes’ half chapter on Padres is interesting. There he has made use of ‘Chaplains in Conflict’ by Stephen Louden and one point which the latter makes is that the WWI chaplain had no clearly defined role and therefore he tended to be moulded by the Army around him. Some commands would not want an unarmed man getting in their way at the front and would confine him to duties further back helping the medic etc. An awful lot depended on the force of personality of the padre concerned. Some notable ones did make it to the front as the above photographs, and various awards including a few VCs testify. By contrast the RC chaplain was not at all unsure of his role as he had to be where the action was in order to administer the last rights to his unfortunate charges.

Regards

Michael D.R.

Just re-read this thread and it is very, very, interesting.

Just one point though.........RC Chaplains administered the last RITES.

Squirrel

The spell-check is no guarantee against pig-ignorance is it

You’re absolutely right!

What I was struggling to avoid was spelling ‘Extreme Unction’

From ‘Cross on the Sword’

“…..Extreme Unction. The final comfort of its application to the dying soldier necessitated the priest’s presence in the line and he willingly administered it……”

Best regards

Michael D.R.

[tonycad]

Thank you all for a very interesting discussion on this thread.

If I may digress slightly.

In the 'Long, Long, Trail' reference is made to the Reverend Theodore Hardy, who was awarded the VC, DSO and MC, before dying of wounds three weeks before the Armistice. He is described as the most decorated non-combatant of WW1.

I thought that RAMC Doctors were also non-combatants, and if so how does Hardy's record compare with that of Noel Chavasse VC and Bar, and MC

A DSO would not equal a VC, whatever the circumstances.

T ny

[squirrel]

Michael DR

No problem, it's not always easy to understand some of the "jargon" used by RC's - just one other thing that sticks in my mind amongst the numerous other items of varying degrees of usefulness.

Was firmly stuck there some years ago when Frances Shand Kydd died and one newspaper report stated that "A Catholic Priest was summoned to read her last rites". Unbelievable that it wasn't picked up somewhere.

Tony

Is this a case of degrees of non combatant or when is a non combatant not a non combatant?

[tonycad]

In Captain J.C. Dunn's book "The War the Infantry Knew", there is a refeernce to how in the face of increasing numbers of officers being killed and wounded in a particular action, he temporarily resigned his commission in the RAMC to take control of his battalion, 2nd Royal Welsh Fusiliers.

However, he always denied that this happened.

I do not have the book to hand to give the actual reference.

Tony

[Nick Cooper]

On the subject of chaplain's graves, an intersting example is in the immaculate Nieppe Communal Cemetery (Nord), which contains 62 scattered WW1 burials. Like many French graveyards it has a Cures' or Priestsi Vault for the clergymen of the area, but the one there also contains the remains of the Rev James J McMenamin, NZ army chaplain who died in June 1917. There is a CWGC headstone in front of the vault (I'll see if I can post a picture tonight).

Hmmm... Unfortunately it seems I only have the cemetery on Hi8, but here are a couple of screen-grabs:

[michaeldr]

one newspaper report stated that "A Catholic Priest was summoned to read her last rites"

Thanks for that Squirrel; what a lovely picture it conjures up

On my recent visit home I attended CofE evensong with my father; I would not have missed it for the world

But neither would I have missed coffee a few mornings later with the local ‘Father.’

He attended the same college as Father Finn who was killed on the first morning at Gallipoli, so we have more than a few common interests

What I am particularly proud of is that he refers to my father and I as his ‘Heretics’

Best regards

Michael D.R.

[squirrel]

he certanly has a way with words then.

[michaeldr]

Oh, he has indeed

[Audax]

tonycad said:

In Richard Homes' 'Tommy', the Anglican Padres were criticised by the Tommies for their reluctance to visit them in the front-line trenches.

This poor man paid the cost of doing so.

Tony

The photograph of the grave marker at Wimereaux Communal Cemetery - Pas de Calias, France; seems to have started this thread off.

Here's some more about the man.

Reverend Armar Edward Acton, Chaplain 4th Class, Mentioned in Despatches, attd 2nd Border Regiment. Died 4th November 1917. Age 28. Born at Galway. Son of the late Lt -Col. J.L.C.Acton (1st Battalion, Connaught Rangers). Landed in France 9.6.1916

He was posthumously mentioned in Despatches on the 24th December 1917. He came from Dunmore, Glengeary, Co Dublin. He was mortally wounded whilst serving as a Church of England Padre to the 2/Border Regiment and the 2/Gordon Highlanders at Gheluvelt on 26 October 1917. He died at Wimmereaux.

The Rev Acton lived with the 2/Border Regt.; his Battalion was the 2/Gordons, mostly Presbyterians. Although at first he had not all the gifts that one associates with a soldier's padre - he was quiet, and found expression difficult - yet day in and day out, he showed extraordinary perserverance and moral courage in his work as a Priest; on which his whole heart was set. His methods were rather rigid, but finding that the mere provision of Services, did not bring him in touch with the men, he thought out new methods. The chief of these was going, Bible in hand, round the tents and billets of his men, asking if he might read with them, and explaining or teaching round the passage which he read. He persued this activity with extraordinary boldness and regularity; the men loved his coming, and he got a great hold of their affections. He showed no signs of fear in danger, and his coolness was proverbial in the battalion. The Officers were not willing that he should go up on the October 26th; but he went and was hit by shell fire in the knee, the knee was broken, but the wound was not deemed dangerous. But septic set in and the leg was amputated in vain. He died on the 4th November. Acton thought much over the problems of ministry in the field and wrote little brochures which were discussed at meetings of C.F.s.

Edited 23 May , 2017 by Audax

[truthergw]

In Captain J.C. Dunn's book "The War the Infantry Knew", there is a refeernce to how in the face of increasing numbers of officers being killed and wounded in a particular action, he temporarily resigned his commission in the RAMC to take control of his battalion, 2nd Royal Welsh Fusiliers.

However, he always denied that this happened.

I do not have the book to hand to give the actual reference.

Tony

In my copy Capt Dunn glosses over the period in question and I believe that the temporary resignation is apocryphal. Other men in the action thought that he took command but they were, according to Capt Dunn, mistaken.

[Audax]

This man was buried in the communal cemetery at Bouzincourt by the gate that leads into the military cemetery.

The Reverend Donald O’Sullivan was born in Kerry in 1890. On Wednesday 5th July 1916, he was at Aveluy anointing a wounded soldier when a shell exploded over him and he was killed instantly.

There is an article about Father O’Sullivan with a portrait photograph, in ‘The Great War Magazine' Issue 21 – September 2005; p21 -25.

Those who are interested in finding out about more about Army Chaplains who died 1914 -20; should see ‘Deaths among Army Chaplains 1914-20’ by Peter Howson, in Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research 83 (2005) p 63 – 77.

The Reverend Peter Howson, retired from the Army in 2002 having reached the rank of Chaplain to the Forces Class 1.

[Myrtle]

The Reverend Donald O’Sullivan was born in Kerry in 1890. On Wednesday 5th July 1916, he was at Aveluy anointing a wounded soldier when a shell exploded over him and he was killed instantly.

There is an article about Father O’Sullivan with a portrait photograph, in ‘The Great War Magazine' Issue 21 – September 2005; p21 -25.

Those who are interested in finding out about more about Army Chaplains who died 1914 -20; should see ‘Deaths among Army Chaplains 1914-20’ by Peter Howson, in Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research 83 (2005) p 63 – 77.

The Reverend Peter Howson, retired from the Army in 2002 having reached the rank of Chaplain to the Forces Class 1.

Audax

Thanks for the information.

Myrtle

[Peter Bennett]

The bravest of them all ?? read his citations.

Rev Theodore Bayley Hardy, VC DSO MC